History for February 8

History for February 8 - On-This-Day.com
William Tecumsen Sherman 1820 - Union General during U.S. Civil War, Jules Verne 1828, Lana Turner 1921


James Dean 1931, John Williams 1932 - Composer, conductor, John Grisham 1955


1896 - The Western Conference was formed by representatives of Midwestern universities. The group changed its name to the Big 10 Conference.


1918 - During World War I, "The Stars and Stripes" was published under orders from General John J. Pershing for the United States Army forces in France. It was published from February 8, 1918 to June 13, 1919.


1952 - Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the British throne. Her father, George VI, had died on February 6.


1963 - The Kennedy administration prohibited travel to Cuba and made financial and commercial transactions with Cuba illegal for U.S. citizens.


1971 - The Nasdaq stock-market index debuted.


1980 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced a plan to re-introduce draft registration.


1985 - "The Dukes of Hazzard" ended its 6-1/2 year run on CBS television.


1993 - General Motors sued NBC, alleging that "Dateline NBC" had rigged two car-truck crashes to show that some GM pickups were prone to fires after certain types of crashes. The suit was settled the following day by NBC.